Credit card balances pick up for the second month

Consumer credit card balances inched up in November 2012 for
the second consecutive month, according to the Federal Reserve's latest G.19
consumer credit report. However, November's increase in debt was tiny compared to October's nearly 5 percentage point rise.

Revolving debt -- which in the report is mostly made
up of credit card debt -- rose by just 1.1 percent in November to $858 billion.

November marked the fifth month of 2012 in which consumer
credit card balances rose. Despite intermittent drops in credit card usage, Americans
appear to have taken on slightly more credit card debt in 2012 than they did the previous year.

Overall, revolving debt grew by $6.9 billion in the
first 11 months of 2012 -- a positive sign that Americans are slowly warming back
up to credit after largely rejecting it in the immediate aftermath of the
Great Recession.

"It's a slow growth economy, but it's moving in the
right direction," says David Nice, an associate economist with Mesirow
Financial in Chicago. "People are not only willing to take on more credit card
debt, but I think creditors are more willing to give out credit."

Student
loans continue to drive growth
Overall consumer credit -- the combination of both revolving and nonrevolving debt -- grew by $16.1 billion in November alone and by $137 billion in the first 11 months of 2012.

While credit card debt grew in fits and starts, the most significant growth in consumer debt in the past year came in nonrevolving debt, a category that includes auto loans, student loans and loans for
mobile homes, boats and trailers. Student loans were the big culprit, contributing a majority of growth, says Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight.

However, U.S. auto sales also spiked in 2012, which experts say could signal
that consumers are feeling significantly more confident about their finances
and may be ready to spend more heavily in 2013. A pickup in auto loans is "a sign
that people are willing to commit to these big-ticket purchases. They have the
confidence to do so, they have the willingness to do so. It's very bullish."

Growth in credit card debt, by contrast, is harder
to interpret, cautions Edelstein, because there are a number of factors that
could cause people to put more debt on their cards.

For example, growth in revolving debt could mean
consumers are more confident about spending their disposable income on retail
and entertainment, rather than just on household essentials, such as food and gas. However, "it
can also mean they don't have the income to pay their bills and they have to
rely on credit cards," says Edelstein.

Looking
ahead to 2013If the U.S. economy were a car, experts say the 2013 model will look much like 2012's -- but maybe a bit faster.

Employers
are expected to continue adding jobs to the U.S. economy, rather than
subtracting them. However, they are likely to do so at a similar slow but
steady pace.

In December 2012, for example, employers
added 155,000 jobs. That's up from 146,000 in November, according to the Labor
Department. But the pickup in jobs wasn't enough to push the overall unemployment
rate down, which remains stuck at 7.8 percent.

Consumer credit use is also expected to rise in
2013; but the majority of that growth will continue to be driven by student
loans, predicts IHS Global Insight's Edelstein.

Experts expect that credit card debt will continue
to slowly pick up throughout the year. But its growth is unlikely to be steep and may
be more volatile in the early months, as consumers react to continuing
uncertainty about fiscal policy and slightly higher payroll taxes.

The payroll tax holiday that's been in place since
2010, for example, has expired, leaving the majority of taxpayers with an additional 2 percent bite out of their monthly paychecks. The loss of income could force consumers to pull back their spending temporarily, say experts.

"I think it's going to catch a lot of people by
surprise," says Edelstein. "I don't think people really saw it coming. Because
it's sort of a shock, you're going to get more of a response from households."

That said, consumers may also react to the higher
monthly taxes by using their credit cards more heavily as they try to make up
for the sudden loss in income, says Mesirow Financial's Nice. "People don't
like to have their standard of living abruptly adjusted," he says. So they
may "use their credit cards to smooth that out."

Card
delinquencies fall to record 18-year lowRegardless
of what happens in the early months of 2013, consumers are starting out the
year much healthier than they have been in the past few years. For example, credit card late payments fell to an 18-year low, according to the American Bankers
Association's most recent Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin.

"Consumers are paying a lot more attention to the
level of debt they have and are trying to pay it down at a faster rate," says
James Chessen, chief economist at the American Bankers Association. Banks,
meanwhile, are still aggressively charging off loans that they don't expect to
be repaid, he says, and are remaining careful about the loans they extend.

That, in turn, has led to a population of credit
card holders who are much more likely to remain in good standing with a credit
card issuer and repay bills.

As the economy slowly improves, Chessen expects that
banks will react to the healthier population of consumers by loosening their
grip on the amount of credit they're willing to extend. Banks may also take a second
look at consumers with less than perfect credit scores, he says, and try to
reach a broader base of customers. "In a growing economy, the risk of lending
is much less than an economy that is slipping into recession," says Chessen.

Chessen also expects that consumers will react to
the improved economy by gradually taking on more debt. "People borrow when they
feel they have the capacity to repay their debt," he says. "The environment for
consumers is much better than what it was before. I think consumers are going
to become more confident now that they've built a base or a buffer to protect
themselves and will be more anxious to buy things they put off for the last few
years."

We encourage an active and insightful conversation among our users. Please help us keep our community civil and respectful. For your safety, do not disclose confidential or personal information such as bank account numbers or social security numbers. Anything you post may be disclosed, published, transmitted or reused.

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.

The editorial content on CreditCards.com is not sponsored by any bank or credit card issuer. The journalists in the editorial department are separate from the company's business operations. The comments posted below are not provided, reviewed or approved by any company mentioned in our editorial content. Additionally, any companies mentioned in the content do not assume responsibility to ensure that all posts and/or questions are answered.

See the online credit card applications for details about the terms and conditions of an offer. Reasonable efforts are made
to maintain accurate information. However, all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on
the "Apply Now" button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the issuer's web site.

Related Sites

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear
on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how
and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear within listing categories.
Other factors, such as our proprietary website's rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact
how and where products appear on the site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available financial
or credit offers.

Advertiser Disclosure

CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers.